Ruth

Oh Ian, please please read The Great Gatsby! I love that book so much Actually I love all of Fitzgerald's work...he always wrote about disappointment and disillusion, but he always did it so beautifully. Anyway, if and when you do read it, I look forward to reading your thoughts on it!

Re Stephen King - I would urge everyone to read The Green Mile. Such a wonderful book I generally find King a bit hit and miss, but I really loved this one.

I second this. I did not like the film, but the book was fantastic.

I believe the major winners for acting and directing etc., will be Les Miserables and Lincoln. Daniel Day Lewis will probably win Best Actor, although I would like Denzel Washington to win, or Hugh Jackman (wouldn't mind Daniel Day Lewis winning though). Lincoln will probably win Best Picture. I would love Anne Hathaway to win Best Supporting Actress, and I think she probably will. Unfortunately, I reckon that Flight and Django Unchained will be pretty much pushed out by Lincoln and Les Mis, but would be nice to see at least one or two awards for those.

What a terrific review I have had this book on my to-be-read shelf for years, and am now thinking that I should read it soon.

Thanks Bree Apparently it is based on on a fairy tale called Snegurochka, although I don't know who wrote it originally. I think it also alludes to the short story Little Daughter of the Snow, by Arthur Ransome. (In fact, my copy of The Snow Child also had this Arthur Ransome story in it, although I haven't read it yet.)

Thanks for your comments everyone (And Frankie, I shall be stealing plenty of book ideas from your reviews too!) I feel a bit bad about posting this review of The Snow Child, because while I could certainly appreciate the writing, I didn't enjoy this book, certainly not as much as I hoped. BUT I hope that won't put anyone off reading it. Having read other reviews, I can see that I am most definitely in the minority, and this book has obviously moved a lot of readers. (In fact, three different booksellers in Waterstones told me how much they loved this book, and how they had had such positive feedback about it from their customers. Maybe I'm just weird!) Anyway, here goes... The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey Set in Alaska in the 1920s, this story (based on an old Russian fairy tale) is about Jack and Mabel, a couple who move to live in a farm in a remote part of Alaska, to escape their pain at not being able to have children. One night they create the figure of a small girl out of snow, and the next morning the snow child has disappeared, but soon a young girl who looks remarkably like their creation appears in the area where they live and befriends them, so that they become almost like parents to her. I wanted to like this book. I really did. People recommended it to me, and I read reviews of it prior to reading it, all of which praised the book highly. So maybe it’s me, but…it just didn’t grab me. The writing was really quite lovely in places, but the whole thing had an air of detachment and isolation to it – I never really felt engaged in the story. The detachment and isolation perhaps reflects the isolated location where the story takes place (and certainly the author’s descriptions of the snowy, remote and lonely place where Jack and Mabel are evocative and atmospheric), but for me it also had the unfortunate effect of me not really caring about any of the characters one way or the other. I did prefer the parts with Faina, the young girl who may or may not be real. However, there was a large part in the middle of the story where she is not present, and I found that that portion dragged. As descriptive as the passages of Jack and Mabel’s work at their farm were, it seemed all quite repetitive. The story picked up pace in the last 100 pages or so however, and I liked that part more. Certainly I can see the value of this story, and the eloquence in the writing, and it is understandable that so many readers seem genuinely touched by it. But unfortunately, it just wasn’t for this reader.

Dead Man Walking. I remember watching this with a friend years ago, and we both just sat there in stunned silence afterwards. Naively, I naively thought that watching it now, knowing the ending before it happened, I wouldn't be so affected. WRONG! I blubbed my eyes out for most of the film. It's very very well done, and beautifully acted by all. Just fantastic.

A Jane Eyre adaptation starring Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds. Woeful, unfortunately. Morton played Jane like an impudent upstart, and Hinds turned my beloved Rochester into nothing more than a shouty bully Plus they cut out loads of the book. After watching several adaptations of Jane Eyre, I am of the opinion that a two hour film cannot do the story justice! Probably why I am such a fan of the Ruth Wilson/Toby Stephens mini-series (might be time for a re-watch, now that I mention it!)

Thanks everyone So far so good with the book! Hope you all enjoy your reading in 2013!

I think P&P is a good place to start. I've read all of Jane Austen's books (although some not for YEARS ) and P&P was one of the easiest to read for me. Emma is also a good one (my personal favourite of Jane Austen's). I definitely would not start with Sense and Sensibility though. I liked the book, but found it the hardest Austen to read. But it's all subjective of course. Best advice is probably just to go for it and see how you get on. Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy it

January 1. The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey - 2.5/5 2. Ape House, by Sara Gruen - 5/5 February 3. Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde - 2.25/5 4. Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen, by Fay Weldon - 4/5 5. The Madonna of the Almonds, by Marina Fiorato - 3/5 6. The Lost Years, by Mary Higgins Clark - 1.5/5 March 7. My Judy Garland Life, by Susie Boyt - 0.5/5 8. Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn - 4/5 April 9. The Hypnotist, by Lars Kepler - 3.5/5 10. Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell - 2.5/5 11. Death at Wentwater Court, by Carola Dunn - 4/5 12. Driving Over Lemons, by Chris Stewart - 3.75/5 May 13. Annabel, by Kathleen Winter - 4.5/5 14. The Dinner, by Herman Koch - 4.5/5 15. Schindler's Ark, by Thomas Keneally - 5/5 June 16. State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett - 4.5/5 17. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce - 4/5 18. What Would Audrey Do? by Pamela Clarke Keogh - 2.75/5 July 19. Roses, by Leila Meacham - 4.5/5 20. The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot - 5/5 21. Mr Midshipman Hornblower, by C.S. Forester - 3/5 22. Two Pints, by Roddy Doyle - 4/5 August 23. Cry Freedom, by John Briley - 4/5 24. The Dating Detox, by Gemma Burgess - 4/5 25. The Empress of Ice Cream, by Anthony Capella - 3.5/6 September 26. The Norm Chronicles, by Michael Blastland & David Spiegelhalter - 4.5/5 27. Stories I Only Tell My Friends, by Rob Lowe - 4/5 October 28. A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving - 3.5/5 29. Golden Boy - The Untold Story of William Holden, by Bob Thomas - 4/5 30. Kommandant's Girl, by Pam Jenoff - 4/5 November 31. The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters - 4/5 32. Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen - 3.75/5 33. The Battle for America 2008, by Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson - 4/5 December 34. The Jane Austen Book Club, by Karen Joy Fowler - 3.75/5 35. The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro - 5/5 36. The Christmas Mystery, by Jostein Gaarder - 2/5 37. On Beauty, by Zadie Smith - 5/5

The Drought, by Steven Scaffardi Dan Hilles has a problem. Since splitting up with his girlfriend Stacey, he just can’t seem to get any….you know what. Yes, as the days turn into weeks, he realises he is experiencing a sexual drought. Fortunately, he has his three best friends, Rob, Ollie and Jack, to help him find the girl who will finally end the dry spell. But try as they might, Dan just can’t seem to seal the deal, and he finds himself in all manner of embarrassing, dangerous, and (for the reader anyway) hilarious situations. So will he find the girl he’s looking for – I mean, just how long can a drought last?! This book is described as lad-lit, but that shouldn’t put off female readers. I chuckled my way through it from beginning to end, and it did make me laugh out loud on occasion, which is something that doesn’t happen very often! The writing flowed well, as Dan lurched from one unfortunate situation to another. I also liked the main characters. The book is narrated by Dan – a regular guy who likes hanging out with his mates – and through his eyes, we really get to know his friends and colleagues. The only character I wasn’t keen on was Jack, but he still provided some comical moments. Admittedly, I guessed fairly early on where the story was heading (although the ending still had a nice subtle twist to it), but that didn’t really matter, because the journey to get there was so much fun. An enjoyable read, that I would definitely recommend. (Thanks to Steven Scaffardi for sending me a copy of this book to review. This in NO way affected my opinion or review of the book.)

An A-Z of Hellraisers: A Comprehensive Compendium of Outrageous Insobriety, by Robert Sellers Basically a book of mini-biographies laced with anecdotes about some of the most famous – or infamous drunks. With entries from as far back as Alexander the Great, most entries are about people from the 19th and 20th centuries – a few of whom are still with us. The usual suspects are all here – Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Frank Sinatra, Robert Mitchum, Ozzy Osbourne, Francis Bacon, Tallulah Bankhead, Calamity Jane – the list goes on. There are tales of harmless drunks, downright nasty drunks (there seemed very little to like about George C Scott, who became frighteningly violent to both men and women when drunk), fighting drunks – Sinatra and Mitchum, and drunks who threw away their career for the bottle – the tale of John Barrymore was ultimately pathetic and sad – and tragic drunks – Edgar Allen Poe, who died young and in mysterious circumstances, and Frances Farmer, a promising actress whose addiction led to horrific treatment in an asylum, are two examples. And then there are the reformed drunks – Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne to name just a couple. I enjoyed the book – it’s certainly not taxing, and as each entry is between 3 – 7 pages long, it’s easy to skip through it quite quickly. I would doubt the veracity of some of the tales contained within the pages – and I never realised just how many slang terms there were for the word ‘drunk’, but I’m sure they’re all in the this book! Overall, a quick and enjoyable read.

Some Christmassy films... Holiday Affair with Robert Mitchum (swoon) and Janet Leigh - one of my favourite Christmas movies. Christmas In Connecticut with Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan - another fab film, but I had to watch it in segments. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - so funny! Love this film

That's great thanks There are a few possibles there - I will try and track them down, and see if they ring a bell. Cheers!

Okay, I need some help with this one! Dont know too about this book, but I do know that it is sci-fi, and is at least 25 years old. It's about an inverted planet, where the sun is in the centre, there's no life on the outside of the planet, it's all inside. Sorry, I know it's not much to go on, but can anyone help? Many thanks in advance

The Man In The Picture, by Susan Hill This is an interesting novella, which left me with mixed – but generally positive – feelings about it. Cambridge alumnus Oliver visits his former tutor, the elderly Theo Parmitter, and Theo starts to tell him the story of a painting hanging on his wall, which depicts a carnival scene in Venice. Overall, there are three narrators – Oliver, Theo and a Countess who used to own the painting before it came into Theo’s possession. Between them, they reveal the secret of the painting – or not so much, because it wasn’t really a secret – after about a third of the book, I guessed pretty much what was going to happen. In less than 150 pages, Susan Hill has certainly crafted an interesting story, with plenty of atmosphere. It was very easy to read (and could easily be read in one sitting) and enjoyable overall, but the ending was no surprise, which may be why at the end of it, I was slightly bemused. Maybe I was hoping for some kind of shock denouement. This is definitely a story where the pleasure is in the journey, not the destination. Worth reading; satisfying, but not spectacular.

I finished The Man In The Picture, by Susan Hill. I liked it, but it did leave me feeling a bit underwhelmed - maybe because I could guess exactly what was going to happen after I was about a third of the way in. Still, it was worth reading - I would say satisfying, but not spectacular. (Mind you, I felt the same way about The Woman in Black, and nearly everyone else I know loved that book). I love this book - probably my favourite Austen, although Emma is not the easiest character to love, or even like sometimes! That's interesting. I haven't read the book, and probably won't bother, but the tv series was excellent. If you haven't seen it, I would definitely recommend it. I agree with everything you say, especially the bit in spoilers I read this a few years ago (2007), and really liked it. Hope you do too

The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp, by Eva Rice This book – set in the 1950s and 1960s, is a charming coming-of-age story. It tells the story of (and is narrated by) Tara Jupp, a young girl who grows up in the shadow of her older sister Lucy’s beauty. However, Tara has one thing that Lucy doesn’t have, and that is a fabulous singing voice. When she is discovered by the record making husband of an old friend, Tara is spirited from her home in Cornwall, to the bright lights of London, where she is transformed into Cherry Merrywell, the city’s latest singing sensation. Tara attends glamorous parties, meets exciting men (falling in love with two of them), and experiences the effect of fame…but will she be able to keep hold of who she really is, or will Tara Jupp be lost forever to Cherry Merrywell? I was looking forward to reading this book, as I had thoroughly enjoyed Eva Rice’s previous novel, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets. In fact, some of the characters from that book are also in this one (but this novel is not a sequel, and you do not have to have read the previous book prior to reading this one). I was glad that I read it – I enjoyed the story a lot. Tara was an endearing and loveable narrator, and I felt that the author really captured all the pain, pleasure and confusion of being a teenager. I also liked the frustrating but impossible-not-to-like Lucy; and Clover, Tara’s mentor in London. The feel of the 1960s came through well, and there was a lovely nod to the Rolling Stones, who of course broke onto the scene in spectacular fashion in 1962. The story flowed beautifully, and although the book came in at over 500 pages, it did not feel like a particularly long novel (and there was no sense of ploughing through it, which I sometimes get with books of that length, if they don’t hold my attention). There were a couple of places where I felt it could have done with a bit of editing – Tara’s age in relation to Lucy seemed to jump about a bit (unless it was me getting confused), and at one point a character was telling a story from his childhood which he said happened when he was three, but in the very next paragraph, it was happening when he was five! However, I should perhaps mention that my copy of the book was a proof copy, and it may well be that these slight errors are not in the finished copy. Overall, this was a delightful and sweet story of a young girl’s adolescence, lived in extraordinary circumstances. I would recommend it, and I look forward to reading more of Eva Rice’s novels in the future.

Resisted posting on this thread until now, because I have only very recently caught up with season 3 (I was away for a lot of November, so recorded the whole series to watch when I got back). Anyway - loved it! I actually started to warm up to Thomas, and felt very sorry for him - which I never thought would happen. I will be interested to see how things play out with him and Bates now - will they be friends now that Bates has effectively saved Thomas's job? Sybil's death - I cried buckets!! Sybil was my favourite sister, but Edith is running her a close second Maggie Smith - brilliant as always. The only character I don't like is Matthew - sorry, but he's like a yawn in human form! I'm not sure if what I'm about to write counts as a spoiler, but just in case, I'm putting it into spoiler tags!

I have watched a few films lately...Out of the Past (aka Build My Gallows High) with Robert Mitchum. Brilliant - but I do really enjoy watching Robert Mitchum in just about anything. Also, As You Like It - Kenneth Branagh's adaptation from 2006, which I enjoyed a LOT! And a few films which I have seen before...Force of Arms - one of my favourite films ever, starring one of my favourite actors, William Holden, Monkey Business - with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, and Singin' In The Rain. The last two were films that I watched on the plane to and from the USA. All three films are in my top ten films of all time And OH and I watched Ted which was extremely funny, and it was great to watch the last bit which was filmed in Fenway Park - we did two tours of Fenway while we were in Boston, so it was nice to see and recognise the places on screen.

After very little reading in November, due to being away for much of it, I started reading The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp, by Eva Rice this weekend. It's not actually out until January officially, but I managed to get a preview copy (with a handwritten note by Eva Rice - nice ). I really really liked her last novel, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, and this one is shaping up to be just as good

Thanks I hope you enjoy it.

I voted for A Midsummer Night's Dream (but was very torn between that and The Taming of the Shrew), Hamlet (with Othello a close second), and Coriolanus.